Pulling tool for straightening fenders and bodies



Dec. 9, 1958 v G. D. PRIEST 2,863,489

PULLING TOOL FOR. STRAIGHTENING FENDERS AND BODIES Filed Dec, :5, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Dec. 9, 1958 -r 2,863,489

PULLING TOOL FOR STRAIGHTENING FENDERS AND BODIES Filed Dec. 3, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 2 6 34, F I 42 4o 7 "7"" 0 i as 6 1' c-I '77. :5?- fATTORNEY of the door.

United States Patent PULLING TOOL FOR STRAIGHTENING FENDERS AND BODIESGeorge D. Priest, Del City, Okla.

Application December 3, 1956, Serial No. 625,894

6 Claims. (Cl. 153-38) The present invention relates to hand tools, andmore particularly to a device for straightening deformed sheet metalpanels on an automobile or the like.

Automobile bodies are so constructed that in many in- :stances it isdifiicult, requiring the dismantling of a number of sections of the bodyconstruction, to gain access to the inward side of a portion of a sheetmetal panel to hammer or straighten out a deformation of the panel.

For example, a dent in a door panel requires the removal of the materialconnected to the inner side of the door to bare the inner side of themetal forming the outside Thus, the repairing of such a blind spot inthis manner necessarily increases the cost of automobile body repairwork.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a handtool for straightening deformed sheet metal panels located over blindspots.

One method of repairing such blind spots has been to cut a hole in thedeformed area sufficiently large enough to permit the entry ofbody-forming tools to grasp the inner surface of the deformation andpull the same back 'into alignment. Thereafter, the hole must be filledin, as

by welding, and the excess metal ground off to present a neatappearance. This type of repair is resorted to only when it isimpractical to gain access to the inward side of the panel.

In most instances it requires only a relatively small 'force applied inthe proper position to cause a deformation in a sheet metal panel tospring back into the plane of the balance of the panel.

A similarly important object of this invention is to provide a hand toolwhich may be positioned over a dent in a sheet metal panel and by whicha force in the form of .a pull may be applied at a selected point tostraighten out the dent.

An additional object is to provide a hand tool of this class which iseasily and readily adjustable to centrally position the tool over a dentin a panel of almost any configuration.

A further object is to provide a hand tool of this class which requiresonly a relatively small hole to be drilled into the sheet metal forstraightening the same, and which hole may be easily filled in.

Still another object is to provide a hand tool of this character whichis interconnected so that none of the parts thereof will be removed andmisplaced.

Yet another object is to provide a device of this class which is easilycollapsible into a relatively small area and is therefore easily storedor placed within a tool boX.

The present invention accomplishes these and other objects by providingan A-frame having the legs thereof pivotally joined together at the apexof the frame. A cross member extends between the legs for adjusting thespacing between the legs. Base plates are pivotally connected to thebase of each of the legs for supporting the frame on a sheet metalpanel. A shaft slidably carried by the apex of the A-frame bisects thesame and projects ice outwardly from the apex thereof. The inwardlydisposed end of the shaft is provided with a recess for receiving ascrew head therein. A crank wheel is threadedly carried by the outwardlydisposed end of the shaft adjacent the apex of the frame.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying two sheets of drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of the device in operating position on afragment of a sheet metal panel, the panel being shown in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the device as seen in Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the device when in folded orcollapsed position;

Figure 4 is an end view of the device, per se;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, partly in elevation,of the recessed end of the shaft;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary top view of the apex of the A-frame takensubstantially along line 66 of Fig. 4; and,

Figure 7 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating an alternatemanner of connecting the crank wheel to the shaft.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures ofthe drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates the device, as a whole, comprising apair of legs or leg-frames 12 and 14 pivotally joined together at oneend by a hinge pin 16 for substantially defining an A-frame. The leg 12is preferably rigidly formed of rod-like material substantiallydescribing a triangular shape having a base. portion 18 and upwardlyconverging sides 20 and 22 terminating in transversely perforated loopends 24 for receiving the hinge pin 16 therethrough. Intermediate theirends the sides 20 and 22 are rigidly connected by a transverselydisposed first brace 26, for the purposes which will presently beapparent. The leg 14 is substantially similarly formed triangularly withrelation to the leg 12 having a base 28 and upwardly converging sides 30and 32 terminating at their upper ends in transversely perforated loopends 34 for receiving the hinge pin 16. Thus, either or each of the legs12 and 14 is free to be pivotally moved about the hinge pin axis 16 or,when the legs 12 and 14 are stationarily positioned, the pin 16 maypivot within the loop ends 24 and 34. Intermediate their ends the sides30 and 32 of the leg 14 are provided with a pair of integral outwardlyprojecting alignedly perforated lugs 36 for pivotally receiving a secondtransverse brace 38. A laterally projecting transversely perforated car37 is integrally carried by the second brace 38 intermediate its ends,for the purposes which will presently be ap parent.

A substantially flat rectangular base member 40 is pivotally connectedlongitudinally to each of the base portions 18 and 28, respectively, bylaterally extending projections of the respective base portions insertedinto alignedly perforated bosses 42 carried by the base members 40. Thepurpose of the base members 4% is to provide a larger supporting areafor the base ends 18 and 28 of the legs when applied to the surface of asheet metal panel 44.

A rod-like cross member 46 is pivotally connected at one end to thefirst brace 26 intermediate its ends and has its free end portionslidably disposed through the aperture or perforation in the ear 37. Thecross member 46 is further provided with a series of longitudinallyspaced-apart notches or recesses 48 defining a series of transverseshoulders for engagement with the ear 37 to adjustably fix the spacingbetween the legs 12 and 14 as desired.

Intermediate its ends the hinge pin 16 is provided With a transversebore 50 having a key 52 projecting inwardly of the bore, for thepurposes disclosed hereinbelow.

An elongated shaft 54 having an exteriorly threaded end portion 56 hasthe threaded end thereof slidably disposed within the bore 50 of thehinge pin. A longitudinal key-way slot 58 formed in the periphery of thethreaded portion of the shaft slidably receives the key 52 and preventsrotation of the shaft relative to the hinge pin 16 during operation,more fully explained hereinbelow. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the shaft54- substantially bisects the A-frame, but the inwardly disposed freeend 67? of the shaft may be moved toward the base of either of the legs12 or 14 by the pivoting of the hinge pin. The length of the shaft issubstantially greater than the height of the legs 12 and 14 forming theA-frame, so that a portion of the threaded end 56 projects outwardlyfrom the apex or hinge pin of the A-frame. The inwardly disposed endportion 60 of the shaft is circumferentially enlarged and provided witha central bore 62 and concentrically enlarged sockets 64 and 66 forreceiving a metallic screw 68 therein. The two sockets 64 and 66 permitthe reception of different sized screws therein. A lateral opening 70 isformed in the wall of the end portion 60 for inserting the head of thescrew 68 into the proper socket.

A crank wheel 72 having a central threaded bore is threadedly engagedwith the threaded portion 56 of the shaft adjacent the apex of theA-framc.

Operation In operation a small hole is drilled at a selected point in adent or deformation 74 in a sheet metal panel (Fig. 2). A metallic screw68, of a selected size, is then inserted into the drilled hole in thepanel. The device 19 is adjustably positioned over the dent 74 and thesocket 64 of the shaft is engaged with the head of the screw 68. Manualrotation of the crank wheel 72, hearing against the hinge pin 16, movesthe shaft outwardly through the bore 50 of the hinge pin and transmits apull to the sheet metal for urging the same into the proper plane of thesheet metal, as shown diagrammatically by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

An alternate arrangement of the crank wheel is shown in Fig. 7, in whichthe shaft 54A is threadedly connected through the hinge pin 16A and thecrank wheel 72A is rigidly positioned adjacent the outwardly disposedend of the shaft by lock nuts 76. Thus, the shaft 54A is longitudinallymoved through the hinge pin 16A in the desired direction by rotating theshaft 54A.

When the device it) is not in use, the free end portion or alterationwithout defeating its practicability, and I therefo-re do not wish to beconfined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and describedherein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sheet metal straightening hand tool, comprising: an A-frarne havingthe legs thereof pivotally joined together at the apex of the frame,each of said legs formed of rod-like material for defining asubstantially triangular shaped leg-frame converging upwardly from thebase thereof toward the juncture of the legs, the base side of saidtriangular shaped leg-frames forming parallel panel engaging surfaces;at first brace-member extending transversely between and rigidlyconnected to the sides of one of said triangular shaped leg-frames; asecond bracemember extending transversely between and pivotallyconnected to the sides of the other one of said triangular shapedleg-frames; a perforated ear integrally carried laterally by said secondbrace-member intermediate its end a cross member pivotally connected atone end to said first brace-member, the free end portion of said crossmember slidably disposed within the perforation of said ear, said crossmember having a series of longitudinally spaced-apart recesses in itsperiphery forming a like series of transverse shoulders engageable withthe outwardly disposed surface of said ear for rigidly holding the legsof said A-frame in predetermined spaced-apart relation; a shaftbisecting said A-frame and slidably connected to said legs adjacenttheir juncture and projecting outwardly therefrom, the length of 'saidshaft being greater than the height of the A-frame, whereby the inwardlydisposed end of said shaft may extend beyond the plane of the lower endof said legs, the inwardly disposed end of said shaft having a recessadapted for receiving a screw head; and a crank wheel threadedly engagedwith the outwardly extended end of said shaft and frictionallycontacting the apex of said A-frame, whereby manual rotation of saidcrank wheel in one direction draws the inwardly disposed end of saidshaft toward the apex of said A-frame.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1, and a base plate pivotallyconnected longitudinally to the base side of each of said triangularshaped leg-frames, respectively, for supporting said A-frame on a sheetmetal panel.

3. A sheet metal straightening hand tool, including: an A-frame; atransverse hinge pin pivotally joining the legs of said A-frame at itsapex, whereby the legs of said A-frame may be adjustably positioned inspacedapart relation said hinge pin having a transverse centralperforation; a cross member extending between the legs of said A-frame,said cross member pivotally connected at one end to one of said legsintermediate its ends, the other one of said legs having an apertureintermediate its ends, the end portion of said cross member oppositesaid pivotally connected end being loosely received by the aperture insaid one leg, the free end portion of said cross member having a seriesof transverse shoulders engageable with the surface of said one legadjacent the aperture for holding said A-frame legs in selectedspacedapart relation; a shaft bisecting said A-frame, said shaft havingone threaded end portion slidably received by the perforation in saidhinge pin and projecting outwardly from the apex of said A-frame, theend of said shaft opposite said threaded end portion having a centralscrew head receiving recess, the length of said shaft being greater thanthe distance between the base and apex of said A-frame; and a crankwheel threaded with the outwardly extended threaded end portion of saidshaft adjacent said hinge pin, whereby manual rotation of said crankwheel in one direction moves the recessed end of said shaft toward theapex of said A-frarne.

4. Structure as specified in claim 3, and a base plate pivotallyconnected transversely to the free end of each of said A-frame legs,respectively, for supporting said A-frame on a metal panel.

5. A sheet metal straightening hand tool, including: a pair of rigidsubstantially triangular shaped leg-frames; a hinge pin pivotallyjoining said leg-frames at one end for forming an adjustable A-frame,said hinge pin having a transverse central perforation; a cross memberextending between said leg-frames and being pivotally connected at oneend to one of said leg-frames intermediate its ends, the other one ofsaid leg-frames having an aperture intermediate its ends for looselyreceiving the free end of said cross member, the free end portion ofsaid cross member having a series of transverse shoulders engageablewith the surface of said one leg-frame adjacent its aperture foradjustably holding the free ends of said leg-frames in spaced-apartrelation; a shaft bisecting said A-frame, said shaft having one threadedend portion slidably received by the perforation in said hinge pin andextending outwardly therefrom, the end of said shaft opposite saidthreaded end having a central screw head receiving recess, the length ofsaid shaft being greater than the length of said leg-frames; and a crankwheel thread- 5 edly engaged with the outwardly extended end of saidReferences Cited in the file of this patent shaft and bearing againstsaid hinge pin, whereby man- UNITED STATES PATENTS ual rotation of saidcrank wheel in one direction moves 377 184 Woodin et a1 Jan 31 1888 therecessed end of said shaft toward said hinge pin. 924514 Warehock June1909 6. Structures as specified in claim 5, and a base plate 5 997:767 uErickson July 11, 1911 pivotally connected transversely to the free endof each 4 179 Bye et J 20, 19 of said leg-frames, respectively, forsupporting said A- 2,696,240 Crowder Dec. 7, 1954 frame on a sheet metalpanel. 2,791,926 Guyton May 14, 1957

